David Bruce Anecdotes
This email includes a canto from my retelling of Dante’s DIVINE COMEDY, which has 100 cantos.
Anecdotes are usually short humorous stories. Sometimes they are thought-provoking or informative, not amusing.
Work
• Muhammad Ali owned a lot of fancy cars, and he hired a chauffeur; however, he enjoyed driving his cars so much that often his chauffeur sat in the back seat while Mr. Ali drove. Occasionally, Mr. Ali would joke that he had taken a part-time job as a chauffeur, and he would point to the real chauffeur in the back seat and say, “That’s the white boss in the back.”
World Series
• When pitcher Greg Maddux became a free agent after the 1992 season, he had a chance to sign with the New York Yankees; however, he signed with the Atlanta Braves although they offered him $6 million less than the Yankees. He had two main reasons for this: 1) He and his wife, Kathy, felt that Atlanta would be a better place to raise their children, and 2) he felt that he had a better chance of winning a World Series with the Braves. These two considerations were more important than the money. Playing for the Braves worked out well for Mr. Maddox; in 1995, the Braves won the World Series.
• Brooklyn Dodger Gil Hodges suffered a horrible hitting slump in the 1952 World Series, getting no hits at all in 21 at-bats. His slump continued during the first part of the 1953 season. A priest (and Dodger fan) urged his congregation to do two things: keep God’s commandments and pray for Gil Hodges. The prayers worked. He started to hit again, he had a very good 1953 season, he had a very good 1953 World Series although the Dodgers lost, and he helped the Dodgers win the 1955 World Series.
Preface
The doing of good deeds is important. As a free person, you can choose to live your life as a good person or as a bad person. To be a good person, do good deeds. To be a bad person, do bad deeds. If you do good deeds, you will become good. If you do bad deeds, you will become bad. To become the person you want to be, act as if you already are that kind of person. Each of us chooses what kind of person we will become. To become a hero, do the things a hero does. To become a coward, do the things a coward does. The opportunity to take action to become the kind of person you want to be is yours.
Many people in the arts, in religion, and in everyday life have done good deeds, and I am happy that such people exist in this world.
Tipping the Balance—Either Way
According to the Talmud, all of us ought to consider the world as being equally divided into good and evil. That way, we will regard our own actions as important. If we act evilly, we will tip the world onto the side of evil and all Humankind will suffer, but if we perform good deeds, we will tip the world onto the side of good, and all Humankind will benefit.
Tennis Shoes and a Pink Umbrella
One book that Gilda Radner read and enjoyed was Disturbances in the Dark by Lynne Sharon Schwartz. The main female character in the book remembers that when she was a young girl, she, her sister, and her parents would go to the beach. So that the two young girls would always be able to find the beach umbrella their parents were using, her father tied a pair of tennis shoes to the umbrella. The two young girls felt safe and protected when they saw the umbrella with the pair of shoes hanging from it. The night before Gilda underwent her first chemotherapy after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, her husband, Gene Wilder, walked into her hospital room carrying a little pink umbrella to which he had tied some shoes.
My Fellow Bums
While living in New York City, comedian Bill Hicks was shocked by the number of homeless people he saw, and he always left home with change in his pockets to give to the homeless. He pointed out, “I could have been a bum. All it takes is the right girl, the right bar, and the right friends.”
Visiting the Wounded Troops
Comedian Al Franken goes into Veterans Administration hospitals to meet the wounded troops. He thought that it would be very difficult, but he was amazed by how cheerful many of them—including a woman helicopter pilot who had lost most of her left leg and part of her right leg—are. He asked a man with one leg what had happened to him; the man replied, “I came in here for a vasectomy, and when I woke up my leg was gone.” By the way, Mr. Franken says not to thank these wounded veterans for their service to the country—they imitate all the politicians who tell them that. Therefore, Mr. Franken uses humor. When he has a photograph taken with one of these veterans, he writes on the photo, “Thank you for getting grievously wounded.”
***
FREE eBooks: THE KINDEST PEOPLE WHO DO GOOD DEEDS (Volumes 1 and 2)
https://www.smashwords.com/books/byseries/3649
FREE eBook: THE MOST INTERESTING PEOPLE IN SPORTS
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/107857
FREE eBook: DANTE’S DIVINE COMEDY: A RETELLING IN PROSE
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/238180
SOME SOURCES FOR FREE EBOOKS
https://www.globalgreyebooks.com
http://www.classicallibrary.org/index.htm
https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu
And my free books:
David Bruce at Smashwords (PDFs and Other Formats)
https://freeditorial.com/en/books/filter-author/david-bruce
https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.com/
***
Chapter 17: Geryon (Inferno)
“Behold the monster that makes the world stink!” Virgil said to Dante as he motioned for the monster to land.
And the monster — the embodiment of fraud — did land.
Dante and Virgil saw the guard of the Circles dedicated to punishing fraud: Geryon, a creature with a face like that of an honest man, a body made of a combination of parts of beasts, and a stinging tail like that of a scorpion.
Geryon has three parts, Virgil noted. Like other triune guards, Geryon is a perversion of the Holy Trinity.
Geryon is an appropriate guard of Circle 8 because he embodies fraud. His honest-looking face encourages people to trust him, while he hides his tail that will sting his victim. Geryon usually stings the sinners who ride on his back, but he won’t do that to Dante and me. When Geryon first gets sinners to trust him and then he stings them with his scorpion’s tail, he commits fraud.
Look at Geryon. He is displaying his honest-looking face, but he is trying to keep his stinging tail out of sight; it is hanging down the cliff leading to the next Circle. He is trying to commit fraud even as I look at him.
Geryon provides transportation to the next Circle. Minos flings sinners down into Hell, but at least some sinners must travel further down to the Circle where they will be punished. Just as Phlegyas the ferryman takes sinners across the Styx, so Geryon flies sinners from Circle 7 to Circle 8.
Dante was surprised by the way the monster looked. His face made you want to trust him, but the rest of him was animalistic. He had clawed paws, not hands. He had hairy legs instead of arms. His back, his belly, and his flanks seemed to be painted with exotic designs like those of some snakes. And he had a stinging tail like that of a scorpion, although he was attempting to keep it out of sight.
“Now we need to go to the evil beast,” Virgil said to Dante. They did, being careful to stay off the burning sand. Dante looked around and saw some sinners close to the edge of the burning sand.
Virgil noticed Dante looking at the sinners and told him, “Go and see them. That will complete your knowledge of the torments in this Circle. But don’t stay long. I will be here convincing the evil beast — whose name is Geryon — to take us down to Circle 8.”
Dante walked toward the sinners, who were in pain because of the flakes of flame falling from the sky onto them and because of the burning sand on which they crouched. Their hands moved constantly, brushing off flames and trying to provide some protection from the burning sand. They resembled dogs trying unsuccessfully to get relief from fleas as they constantly scratched here and scratched there.
Because when they were alive, the greedy moneylenders took something that ought to be infertile and made it fertile, now that they are dead, they are in this burning plain with fire raining down on them. Here they are bent over, just like living greedy moneylenders who bend over their tables and count their money. Hanging from the necks of these sinners in Hell are moneybags, which they gaze at greedily just as they did while they were living.
Dante looked carefully at the faces of several sinners, but he recognized no one, although he knew that the sinners were greedy moneylenders because of the moneybags that were hanging from their necks. These sinners’ love of money had kept them from accomplishing something great in the Land of the Living. Because they were undistinguished in the Land of the Living, they cannot be distinguished in the Land of the Dead.
However, although Dante could not recognize any individual greedy moneylenders, he did recognize the families that the greedy moneylenders came from by looking the designs — the coats of arms — on their moneybags. He identified a member of the Gianfigliazzi family of Florence because the sinner had a yellow purse that was decorated with a blue lion. He identified a member of the Ubriachi family of Florence because the sinner had a red purse that was decorated with a goose. And he identified a member of the Scrovegni family of Padua because the sinner had a purse that was decorated with a blue sow.
The sinner who was a member of the Scrovegni family told Dante, “What are you looking at! Get away from me! What are you doing here!
“But since you are alive, I will tell you that soon my neighbor Vitaliano will arrive here in this Circle of Hell and sit on my left. We will then have one more Paduan among all these Florentines.”
The Paduan then stuck his tongue out at Dante, who returned to Virgil lest he anger his guide by staying too long.
Virgil, who was already sitting on the back of Geryon, told Dante, “Now is the time for courage and strength. This is our transportation to the next Circle. Sit in front of me so that I will be between you and this monster’s stinging scorpion’s tail.”
Dante was afraid, but he obeyed Virgil and mounted Geryon’s back. He thought about asking Virgil to hold on to him, and Virgil, reading Dante’s mind, did just that.
Virgil then ordered the monster, “Geryon, take flight, and fly gently. Remember, on your back is a living person.”
Geryon launched himself in flight and descended.
Dante was afraid. He thought, I am more afraid than Phaëthon was when he took flight. Phaëthon was Apollo’s son, but he was born to a mortal woman, and so he was a mortal. One day, he journeyed to see his father, who wanted to give him a gift — a gift consisting of anything he wanted. Phaëthon decided that he wanted to drive his father’s chariot. Apollo was the Sun-god, and he drove the chariot that warmed and lit the Earth. However, Apollo knew that only a god could handle the horses that drove the chariot, and he begged his son to choose another gift. However, Phaëthon was determined to drive the chariot. Since Apollo had sworn an inviolable oath by the River Styx, he had to let Phaëthon drive the chariot.
As Apollo had foreknown, Phaëthon could not control the horses, and the chariot drove wildly over the sky, coming too close to the Earth sometimes and going too far away from the Earth sometimes. Eventually, the chariot came so close to the Earth that the Earth was about to catch fire. Fortunately for the people living on the Earth, Jupiter killed Phaëthon with a thunderbolt and Apollo was able to drive the chariot again, and so everything went back to normal.
I am even more afraid than Icarus, Daedalus’ son, was when he fell out of the sky. Icarus was the son of Daedalus. Daedalus built the wooden cow that Pasiphaë crept into when she fell in love with a bull and wanted the bull to make love to her. After Pasiphaë gave birth to the Minotaur, Daedalus built the labyrinth that housed the Minotaur.
To make sure that no one could ever learn the secret of how to get out of the labyrinth, the King of Crete imprisoned Daedalus and Icarus, his son. Daedalus fashioned wings made out of wax and feathers so that he and his son could fly away from the island where they were imprisoned. Daedalus warned his son not to fly too high, for if he did the Sun would melt the wax, the feathers would fall out of the wings, and he would fall into the sea and drown.
That is exactly what happened. Icarus became excited because he was flying, he flew too high, the wax of his wings melted, and he drowned.
Dante and Virgil could hear the roaring of the waterfall as they descended. Dante looked out at the terrain of Circle 8 as they descended, but leaning outward frightened him so much that he quickly stopped doing it.
Geryon was angry at Dante and Virgil because he had expected to be able to torment some newly arrived sinners when he answered the signal of the cord that had been used by Dante as a belt.
When Geryon descended in spirals from Circle 7 to Circle 8, he was like a falcon that was angry at its master. When Geryon landed, he made sure to land in such a way that Virgil and Dante were almost up against the jagged cliff.
And as soon as Virgil and Dante got off his back, Geryon took off like an arrow shot from a bowstring, getting away from Dante and Virgil as quickly as possible.
LARRY ELEFANTE
LARRY ELEFANTE
https://davidbrucemusic.wordpress.com/2020/02/27/larry-elefante-at-ohio-universitys-front-room-26-february-2020/ (16 February 2020)
LARRY ELEFANTE is a family band and back porch music is our favorite jam.
LARRY ELEFANTE on You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/@larryelefante
LARRY ELEFANTE on Bandcamp
https://larryelefante.bandcamp.com
LARRY ELEFANTE: KING CAKE
LARRY ELEFANTE: LIVE FROM LEBREWSKI FEST 2022
LARRY ELEFANTE: CATSTOCK 2022 — LIVE FROM THE LIVING ROOM
LARRY ELEFANTE: I GET SENTIMENTAL
LARRY ELEFANTE: Lover of Love (Allen Toussaint cover)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7Iqm8pQ4-o
LARRY ELEFANTE: ‘Too Much’ … live from the Rambling House!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyW-8heO19E
LARRY ELEFANTE: Real Cool…in the church with Kari, Andre & Michael.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3q38pDEFgQ
Larry Elefante: “(Everybody Wanna Get Rich) Rite Away”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNVyrBPpwPo
LAVANDULA
Lavandula: 5 college friends that like to cuddle and make music.
Landon Elliott – lead guitar
https://www.youtube.com/@landonelliottmusic
Wyatt Fratianne – drums
Isaac King – bass
Joey Negrete – vocals
https://www.youtube.com/@joeynegrete7198
Zach Winkleman – keys
***
“While My Guitar Gently Weeps Cover”: The Beatles Cover
Lavandula 4/28/23
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa_55Q3E8QQ
Lavandula: “Crocodile Rock” Cover – Live at The Union 12.2.22
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUzU9ChshRs
Lavandula: “Can’t Wait to Tell You” – Acoustic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcy3CNmOZRs
LIZ WOOLLEY
Liz Woolley: Live From Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOrrMtOEPJY
Liz Woolley: “A Pleasant Turn”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn0828_oCew
Liz Woolley: “I Can See It in Your Eyes”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9McIWYxx-yI
Liz Woolley’s TunesN’Charts
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36DmjLXuieY
Liz Woolley: Top Songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-BJG5JszCw&list=OLAK5uy_kkoUt_4S6m0Ez390jG-mLtN8JDZCG-yLM
The Liz Woolley Band: Top Songs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvM-EeIYhag&list=OLAK5uy_lL8yAgTV79Ziq8hTGpRwq5OAAoENCRWbo
Liz Woolley: A LITTLE BIT ROMANTIC
Liz Woolley: SISTER SUMMER
Liz Woolley: DO LOVE
Liz Woolley: THE HAPPY HOMEBODY
Liz Woolley: THE HAPPY HOMEBODY VOL. 2
THE LIZ WOOLLEY BAND
GOOD TIME GIRLS
Three-part womyn Americana/bluegrass/folk harmonies that soothe the soul.
Liz Woolley, Alyssa Graber, and Sophia Enriquez
Good Time Girls on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/@goodtimegirls8101
“Love Oh Love Please Come Home”—Good Time Girls cover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaeD696KTU4
“Tu Solo Tu”—Good Time Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bJSjpSEvSU
“Talk to Me”—Good Time Girls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnr94x6pAvE
Sittin’ On Top of the World—Good Time Girls cover feat. Jordan Lynch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WGPaZ84ZXE
TUESDAY NIGHT SONGWRITER CIRCLE
When Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, is open for classes, meets Tuesdays 7pm in the 1804 Room of Baker Center at Ohio University.
TUESDAY NIGHT SONGWRITER CIRCLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgGJ0maiJtw
Ohio University Songwriter Circle On Pinterest
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/292522938273094225/
Albert Rouzie: “Man on the Roof”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SVrqUHs5f8
Bruce Dalzell: “Grain of Salt”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0ozZ5fBtD0
Dan Canterbury: “Athens County Line”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_UqTaRAE98
Greg Bikowski: “Monterey”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUrlodr1q6c
Jeanie Thieken Creamer: “Burn”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww5fmC27LFI
Megan Bee: “Dreams I Don’t Remember”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAdjM-rBRuQ
Missy Whaley: “Fresh Start”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3V3mgeIy1A
Steve Carlson [Steven Craig Carlson]: “Fly Away”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOh-NEBlw6o
William “Billy” Rhinehart: “Over Here and Far Away”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_6hrVj4X_k
SOME BOOKS BY DAVID BRUCE
My FREE eBooks can be downloaded here in various formats, including PDF and ePub:
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/bruceb
https://freeditorial.com/en/books/filter-author/david-bruce
My EXPENSIVE books (paperbacks and hardcovers, all of which are FREE eBooks at Smashwords) can be purchased here:
https://www.lulu.com/spotlight/brucebATohioDOTedu
RETELLINGS OF A CLASSIC WORK OF LITERATURE
Arden of Faversham: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Arraignment, or Poetaster: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Bartholomew Fair: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Case is Altered: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Catiline’s Conspiracy: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Devil is an Ass: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Epicene: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Every Man in His Humor: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Every Man Out of His Humor: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Fountain of Self-Love, or Cynthia’s Revels: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Magnetic Lady, or Humors Reconciled: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The New Inn, or The Light Heart: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Sejanus’ Fall: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s The Staple of News: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s A Tale of a Tub: A Retelling
Ben Jonson’s Volpone, or the Fox: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s Complete Plays: Retellings
Christopher Marlowe’s Dido, Queen of Carthage: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus: Retellings of the 1604 A-Text and of the 1616 B-Text
Christopher Marlowe’s Edward II: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s The Massacre at Paris: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s The Rich Jew of Malta: A Retelling
Christopher Marlowe’s Tamburlaine, Parts 1 and 2: Retellings
Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Retelling in Prose
Dante’s Inferno: A Retelling in Prose
Dante’s Purgatory: A Retelling in Prose
Dante’s Paradise: A Retelling in Prose
The Famous Victories of Henry V: A Retelling
From the Iliad to the Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose of Quintus of Smyrna’s Posthomerica
George Chapman, Ben Jonson, and John Marston’s Eastward Ho! A Retelling
George Peele’s The Arraignment of Paris: A Retelling
George Peele’s The Battle of Alcazar: A Retelling
George’s Peele’s David and Bathsheba, and the Tragedy of Absalom: A Retelling
George Peele’s Edward I: A Retelling
George Peele’s The Old Wives’ Tale: A Retelling
George-a-Greene: A Retelling
The History of King Leir: A Retelling
Homer’s Iliad: A Retelling in Prose
Homer’s Odyssey: A Retelling in Prose
J.W. Gent.’s The Valiant Scot: A Retelling
Jason and the Argonauts: A Retelling in Prose of Apollonius of Rhodes’ Argonautica
John Ford: Eight Plays Translated into Modern English
John Ford’s The Broken Heart: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Fancies, Chaste and Noble: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Lady’s Trial: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Lover’s Melancholy: A Retelling
John Ford’s Love’s Sacrifice: A Retelling
John Ford’s Perkin Warbeck: A Retelling
John Ford’s The Queen: A Retelling
John Ford’s ’Tis Pity She’s a Whore: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Campaspe: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Endymion, The Man in the Moon: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Galatea: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Love’s Metamorphosis: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Midas: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Mother Bombie: A Retelling
John Lyly’s Sappho and Phao: A Retelling
John Lyly’s The Woman in the Moon: A Retelling
John Webster’s The White Devil: A Retelling
King Edward III: A Retelling
Mankind: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)
Margaret Cavendish’s The Unnatural Tragedy: A Retelling
The Merry Devil of Edmonton: A Retelling
The Summoning of Everyman: A Medieval Morality Play (A Retelling)
Robert Greene’s Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay: A Retelling
The Taming of a Shrew: A Retelling
Tarlton’s Jests: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton’s A Chaste Maid in Cheapside: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton’s Women Beware Women: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton and Thomas Dekker’s The Roaring Girl: A Retelling
Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s The Changeling: A Retelling
The Trojan War and Its Aftermath: Four Ancient Epic Poems
Virgil’s Aeneid: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 5 Late Romances: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 10 Histories: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 11 Tragedies: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 12 Comedies: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 38 Plays: Retellings in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 1: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 2 Henry IV, aka Henry IV, Part 2: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 1 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 1: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 2 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 2: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s 3 Henry VI, aka Henry VI, Part 3: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s All’s Well that Ends Well: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s As You Like It: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Coriolanus: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Henry V: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Henry VIII: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s King John: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s King Lear: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Macbeth: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Othello: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Pericles, Prince of Tyre: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Richard II: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Richard III: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Two Gentlemen of Verona: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Two Noble Kinsmen: A Retelling in Prose
William Shakespeare’s The Winter’s Tale: A Retelling in Prose
CHILDREN’S BIOGRAPHY
Nadia Comaneci: Perfect Ten
PERSONAL FINANCE BOOK
How to Manage Your Money: A Guide for the Non-Rich
ANECDOTE COLLECTIONS
250 Anecdotes About Opera
250 Anecdotes About Religion
250 Anecdotes About Religion: Volume 2
250 Music Anecdotes
Be a Work of Art: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
The Coolest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes
The Coolest People in the Arts: 250 Anecdotes
The Coolest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes
The Coolest People in Comedy: 250 Anecdotes
Create, Then Take a Break: 250 Anecdotes
Don’t Fear the Reaper: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Art: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Books: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Books, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Books, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Comedy: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Dance: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 4: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 5: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Families, Volume 6: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Music: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Music, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Music, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Neighborhoods: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Relationships: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Sports, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Television and Radio: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People in Theater: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People Who Live Life: 250 Anecdotes
The Funniest People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
Maximum Cool: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Movies: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Politics and History, Volume 3: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Religion: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People in Sports: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People Who Live Life: 250 Anecdotes
The Most Interesting People Who Live Life, Volume 2: 250 Anecdotes
Reality is Fabulous: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
Resist Psychic Death: 250 Anecdotes
Seize the Day: 250 Anecdotes and Stories
Kindest People Series
The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 1
The Kindest People Who Do Good Deeds: Volume 2
Free Philosophy for the Masses Series
Philosophy for the Masses: Ethics
Philosophy for the Masses: Metaphysics and More
Philosophy for the Masses: Religion
SOME SOURCES FOR FREE EBOOKS
https://www.globalgreyebooks.com
http://www.classicallibrary.org/index.htm
https://davidbruceblog429065578.wordpress.com/
https://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu
https://www.feedbooks.com/publicdomain/category/FBFIC000000/sub
GEORGE ORWELL: 1984
You may download it FREE here:
https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20120511
https://www.globalgreyebooks.com/nineteen-eighty-four-ebook.html
https://freeditorial.com/en/books/1984-by-george-orwell
- RISE ABOVE.
Theater director Tyrone Guthrie advised his actors and crew to do this. The advice means to rise above whatever forces are working against you. All of us have personal problems. No one’s life is perfect. Sometimes, life seems to conspire against us. Rise above all that, and produce the best work you can.
- ASTONISH ME.
Dance impresario Sergei Diaghilev advised his choreographers to do this. The advice means what it says. Do such good work that the person who commissioned the work—and of course the audience—is astonished. (Tyrone Guthrie also used this phrase.)
- DO IT NOW.
As a young man, choreographer George Balanchine nearly died and so he believed in living his life day by day and not holding anything back. He would tell his dancers, “Why are you stingy with yourselves? Why are you holding back? What are you saving for—for another time? There are no other times. There is only now. Right now.” Throughout his career, including before he became world renowned, he worked with what he had, not complaining about wanting a bigger budget or better dancers. One of the pieces of advice Mr. Balanchine gave over and over was this: “Do it now.”
- GO OUT AND GET ONE.
Ruth St. Denis once taught Martha Graham an important lesson when Ms. Graham was just starting to dance. Ms. St. Denis told Ms. Graham, “Show me your dance.” Ms. Graham replied, “I don’t have one,” and Ms. St. Denis advised, “Well, dear, go out and get one.” (Everyone needs an art to practice. Your art need not be dance. Perhaps your art can be writing autobiographical essays. Of course, you may practice more than one art.)
- WORK A LITTLE HARDER.
“I think high self-esteem is overrated. A little low self-esteem is actually quite good—maybe you’re not the best, so you should work a little harder.”—Jay Leno
Caitlin Kraus: “This Body”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW9Kp-P3oio
Notes for “This Body”:
A song for the rights of all: the right to be safe in our bodies, the right to make decisions for our bodies, and the right to be who we are in our bodies. (Lyrics below.) I wrote this song […] out of the need to process my anger at women’s rights being taken away and for what this means for other rights down the line. A never-ending issue it seems, but one we can’t stop fighting for. A big thank you to Tom Riggs for taking footage of my first performance of this song with Mark Hellenberg on drums at The Union in Athens, OH.
CAITLIN KRAUS ON FACEBOOK
https://www.facebook.com/caitlinkrausmusic
CAITLIN KRAUS MUSIC
CAITLIN KRAUS ON INSTAGRAM
https://www.instagram.com/caitlinkrausmusic/
CAITLIN KRAUS ON BANDCAMP
https://caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com
CAITLIN KRAUS: GONE BEYOND album
https://caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com/album/gone-beyond
CAITLIN KRAUS: WHAT RISES album
https://caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com/album/what-rises
CAITLIN KRAUS: “Waiting for the World” / “Dead Man” EP
https://caitlinkrausmusic.bandcamp.com/album/dead-man-waiting-for-the-world
Caitlin Kraus: “Gone Beyond” (Caitlin Kraus performs “Gone Beyond” Aug. 17, 2023, at the Athens (OH) Community Center.) — From the album GONE BEYOND.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4zFYr55b5E
Caitlin Kraus: “Make It Clear” (Caitlin Kraus performs “Make It Clear” Aug. 17, 2023, at the Athens (OH) Community Center.) — From the album GONE BEYOND.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1isFj2Oxiu4
davidbruceblog #4 